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by Maaeeya



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP
Genre: Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-23
Updated: 2014-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-26 17:36:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2660636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maaeeya/pseuds/Maaeeya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chinen on Yamada's guest appearance in Jigoku Sensei Nube~</p>
            </blockquote>





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Chinen knew what he had to do after Yamada teasingly mentioned once in their green room how jealous he was that the younger got a role in Nube. It was not that his friend was asking for anything out of that little conversation. It was but part of the usual drivel that they exchanged during their down time together. But Chinen knew he had to do something about it.

 

It would not do to just ask the director and producer to put his friend in. Not only would it constitute as bad manners and get him a round of scolding from his own management, he was also unsure of his own position in the drama. There was always a danger that when more than one Johnny’s was casted, one may have gotten their role through barter trade. Sure, he was confident of his own abilities and track records that he would rarely if ever be a barter, but the other Johnny’s in the drama was Maruyama-kun who despite a much thinner portfolio than him was his dai-senpai and more importantly, part of a more senior and popular group. If he was the barter, the chances of getting Yamada in just by asking were very low indeed.

 

It occurred to Chinen that perhaps a bit of desperation might do the trick. The whole kneel down and beg for it seemed like a very appealing option if he did not know of its ineffectiveness first hand. After all, he had seen another of his friend grovel and beg to leave the company for years only to be brushed off by the management time and time again until he resorted to illegal activities to get himself kicked out. The entertainment industry was not looking for desperation. They were looking for image and profits so unless either the director or producer got off power play, which he highly doubted, the option was pretty much useless.

 

What was useful though, was how it quickly brought him to his final solution. Desperation might not work, but a bit of good old manipulation to make the both of them see how casting Yamada would profit them all might.

 

And so Chinen started Operation Yamakai (Yamada as yokai). He made sure he started subtly enough, throwing Yamada’s name in when appropriate to conversations with different people. It helped that as Yamada’s best friend he was expected to drop his name occasionally. And so Chinen did, but making sure he focused on the positives and uniqueness of his friend. It wasn’t that Yamada was his wallet. It was that Yama-chan was always so kind to treat him to meals *cue melancholic eyes and a soft smile*. It wasn’t that Yamada hogged the spotlight in their group. It was that Yamada-kun had a natural aura which he learned to control and that his experience in acting made him suitable for lead roles *cue eye sparkle*.

 

Chinen also worked doubly hard on set. Ratings were the lifeblood of a drama and the better the ratings, the looser the staff were with their budgets and naturally, the less turned off they were by his friend’s irritatingly high fee.

 

If there was something Chinen loved, it was security. He liked earning things through his own effort so security was a must for him. So while all he did already raised his friend’s chances of getting called in as a special guest, Chinen wanted to do more. He wanted the position almost guaranteed. So he turned on his boyish charms to the max, pushed his introvert nature aside the best he could to fool around with the other cast members of his age, forced his exhausted body and mind along for drinks with the staff when asked out and made sure he was extra sweet by doing stuff such as sidling up to the director and producers to refill their sake glasses the second they ran dry.

 

And so during the filming of episode 5, when he happened to walk by a meeting room filled with the older actors and staff, when he overheard Mokomichi-san saying how he would like to work with Yamada-kun one day because he seems like quite the “enigmatic and interesting” young fellow in response to the producer’s question of if there was anyone in particular they would like to work with for the last few episodes,  and when he heard the director’s agreeable murmur of how that would please the little fox on the set as well, Chinen turned on his heel and walked back to the set as normally as possible. He could not control however, a grin from breaking out on his face.

 

* * *

 

Having Yamada on the set was something different altogether. His energy was palatable as was his enthusiasm. He was noticeably excited to be on the set, running from one person to another and striking up natural conversations with them like a golden retriever eager for pats. He never really did spend much time sitting down and talking to Chinen but that was to be expected. His friend was just too happy to be here. Of course, Yamada did not know of Chinen’s role to play but Chinen was fine with that, in fact he preferred if his friend never knew. Chinen was his unthreatening best friend and it was best that things remained that way.

 

Resigning from his efforts was surprisingly easy for Chinen. Apparently, he had been running on adrenaline because his exhaustion now showed more easily and while he worked just as hard on the set, the staff and cast all gave understanding looks when he sat out of conversations and politely turned down offers for drinks. Not that they often notice him missing from the former as Yamada’s presence was more than enough to eclipse his absence. But he was fine with things being that way. Rather than talking, he felt more content just watching Yamada from the corner of his eye.

 

In fact, he watched so much that he did not notice someone else watching him. So when he turned and saw Maruyama-kun standing behind him, he could just barely suppress a surprised jump.

 

“You’re setting yourself up for heartache Chii-chan.” Maru said that day.

 

Chinen smiled a sad smile as he watched Yamada in the distance chatting excitedly to Yoshizawa and Shimuzu-kun. His eyes were always set on Ryosuke but the reverse was rarely the case. Turning around, he met Maruyama-kun’s unusually serious gaze.

 

“I know.” Chinen replied simply. And the conversation ended there though not without Maru taking his cell phone and forcibly storing his number in it with strict orders to call him whenever wherever. Chinen just smiled softly. Higashiyama-san, despite his endless teasing, had done the same thing.

 

It was fine. It had always been this way. Yamada was his sun and he was but one of the many planets, destined to revolve around him at a distance but never together.


End file.
